Local brokerage sees profits zoom, unveils e-merger

Chapman Holdings plans Web firm with 2 affliates

March 02, 2000|BY A SUN STAFF WRITER

Chapman Holdings Inc., a Baltimore brokerage and investment bank, said Tuesday that its fourth quarter and annual profits surged in 1999.

For its fourth quarter, which ended Dec. 31, the company reported a net profit of $1.2 million on revenue of $4.3 million. By comparison, Chapman Holdings booked a net loss of $825,000 on $689,000 in revenue in the comparable three months in 1998.

For the year, Chapman Holdings said it earned $364,000 on revenue of $8.5 million. Revenue increased 180 percent compared with 1998 when Chapman Holdings lost $1.1 million on revenue of $3 million.

An affiliated company, Chapman Capital Management Holdings Inc., which operates as an investment adviser, reported that it trimmed its fourth-quarter net loss to $52,000 and boosted revenue to $1.4 million. In the comparable quarter of 1998, Chapman Capital lost $165,000 on revenue of $835,000. For the year, the company's losses rose to $550,000 on revenue of $4.6 million, compared with a net loss of $106,000 on revenue of $3.1 million in 1998.

Chapman Holdings, Chapman Capital and Chapman Insurance Holdings Inc., plan to merge into e-Chapman.com. That venture has filed to raise as much as $53 million in a public offering. The offering is expected to be priced this week at $14 to $16 per share.